As you read this, Kim and I will be off on a rare road trip, going to the Land of Lincoln (literally, since our 16th president had a law practice in the small town where we’re going. So did Adlai Stevenson, though his star has shone less bright in the galaxy of history).Continue reading »

A 30-year-old man was found fatally shot in the back yard of a Willow Street home in west Carrollton, authorities said, and they are seeking the public’s help finding a silver SUV seen fleeing the scene. Continue reading »

The armed, masked men who robbed Cooter Brown’s at closing time last week previously committed a similar holdup of a Domino’s restaurant in New Orleans East, based on surveillance images released by authorities Friday morning.Continue reading »

A young man pressed a gun to a 46-year-old woman’s head Wednesday evening and stole her silver 2008 Saturn from in front of her home near Fig and Cambronne streets in the Northwest Carrollton neighborhood, authorities said. Continue reading »

It’s no secret that Allan and Danae represent the Orleans Parish School Board and therefore watch education trends pretty closely. But we have to say that today’s groundbreaking for the new $55 Million McDonogh #35 College Preparatory High School on the edge of Bayou St. John is a public education milestone worthy of celebration. First of all, FEMA provided the entire $55 million as part of their long-term commitment to rebuilding schools in New Orleans.Continue reading »

The icon with the body shows the homicide, and the first is the location of Tuesday’s shooting. (map via NOPD)

A 23-year-old man was shot to death Wednesday night in the Dixon area of Hollygrove, just around the block from where three people were injured in a shooting the night before, authorities said. Continue reading »

The pair of masked, gun-wielding men who robbed Cooter Brown’s at closing time last week are still at large, and police officials are urging employees who have to close businesses late at night to take extra precautions until they’re found.

A shoplifter who has emptied the shelves of a South Claiborne convenience store of laundry detergent on several occasions has been captured on surveillance camera, police say, and investigators are now seeking the public’s help identifying him.Continue reading »

State Rep. Walt Leger, whose District 91 runs in a band across Uptown from the Irish Channel to Hollygrove, intends to pursue a candidacy for Speaker of the state House of Representatives in 2016, he told Jeremy Alford, the capitol correspondent for Gambit. Although a Democrat in a Republican-dominated legislature, Leger says he will build on his reputation as a compromise broker, Alford reports.

“I want a safe neighborhood.” On any given day I must hear this a good dozen times from newbies (and parents of newbies) moving to New Orleans, less so from those that are returning or looking for a change of scenery already calling the city home. And the why is simple I think: if you’ve chosen to reside in the city proper then you likely engage on a level of “This ain’t Mayberry.” Yes, it is a Southern space that affords the stereotypes therein where neighbors and strangers alike trade routine pleasantries, comments on the weather, and the not so stray parallel park assist, but that doesn’t translate to lowering your guard or not following your gut.

Everyone wants a safe neighborhood, but arguably crime happens all over; there isn’t a corner in the Crescent City any one can point to and say ‘Here! It’s totally safe here in the Cemetery District. Unlock your doors, and leave your bike unchained and smart phone unattended.” Continue reading »

Late last year, the Daiquiri Place Cafe on St. Charles Avenue lost its liquor license amid allegations that it had done too little to control the noise, litter and large crowds that congregated around it on weekends.

At the time, the Daiquiri Place owners argued unsuccessfully that Santa Fe Tapas next door was a major contributor to the problem. Now, attorneys for the city are making a similar complaint, bringing nuisance charges against Santa Fe Tapas before the city’s alcohol board. Continue reading »

Four Uptown neighborhood groups — the Broadmoor Improvement Association, the Garden District Association, Maple Area Residents Inc. and St. Charles Avenue Association — are among 13 petitioning city officials to strengthen the city’s noise ordinance, arguing for measures such as designating a specific individual with enforcing it and measuring sound levels from venues’ property lines.Continue reading »

Jeremy Wilcox, a New Orleans police officer who served most recently in the Uptown-based Second District, was removed from the force Tuesday based on a 2004 bad check for $2,505 discovered after a traffic stop last summer in which he was driving a truck without a license plate, authorities said. Continue reading »

With more Mardi Gras krewes moving to the St. Charles Avenue route, a series of proposals would return the celebration to its neighborhood routes by “bolstering an alternative major parade route in Mid-City, working with Jefferson and the other parishes to coordinate regional parade schedules, adjusting regulations to allow neighborhoods to hold much smaller Mardi Gras Krewe processions, and encouraging those neighborhoods to form ‘Krewes of their own’, something between marching clubs and small float processions,” according to a recent article by Christoper Tidmore for the Louisiana Weekly.

Jefferson Parish officials would be enthusiastic about having a night or two more focused on their parades, Tidmore writes, suggesting that they might help with some Orleans Parish parade-route enforcement on other nights in exchange, a potentially attractive option as the multi-million dollar bill for the federal NOPD consent decree looms.

“When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.” African proverb

Growing up, I loved summers and not just for the stereotypical reasons like no school or staying up late. The bookworm in me cherished the summertime because it meant enrolling in the summer reading program at the library.

I would go to the library once or twice a week to checkout new reading material. I don’t remember my top number of books read during the dog days or what I even read, though I vaguely recall one middle school summer checking out a hardback on voodoo that was later banned from the library system. Aside from having an affinity for literature, the incentives – bookmarks, gift certificates for personal pan-sized pies from Pizza Hut and coupons for Skate Country and Putt Putt Golf – didn’t hurt either.Continue reading »